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22 Jun 2006 : Column 2124W—continued
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) internal and (b) external meetings he has held on police force restructuring in the last 12 months; and how much time has been spent in each category of meeting. [68710]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 4 May 2006]: The Home Secretary has had numerous meetings on this subject.
Police Complaints
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what criteria are used by police professional standards departments when conducting complaints into police conduct and behaviour; and if he will make a statement; [78279]
(2) what criteria are used by the Independent Police Complaints Commission when conducting complaints into police conduct and behaviour; and if he will make a statement. [78280]
Mr. McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the Chairman receives a copy of the questions and replies to the hon. Member directly. Copies of the letters containing the IPCC’s response will be placed in the House Library.
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what measures the Government have put in place to ensure that investigations into complaints of police behaviour and misconduct by (a) police professional standards departments and (b) the Independent Police Complaints Commission (i) follow due process and (ii) are conducted to high professional standards; and if he will make a statement; [78282]
(2) what guidance is issued to serving police officers who are subject to investigations following a complaint as to their conduct during that investigation; what guidance is issued to local police force managers on these matters; and if he will make a statement. [78285]
Mr. McNulty: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is responsible for the management of the police complaints system. I will ensure that the chairman receives a copy of the question and replies to the hon. Member directly. Copies of the letter containing the IPCC’s response will be placed in the House Libraries.
Portland PR
Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what meetings officials in his Department have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has with his Department and agencies for which he has responsibility; and what the nature of the contract is in each case. [70136]
Mr. Byrne: The Department does not maintain a central list of such meetings.
Prisoner Deportation
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether foreign prisoners subject to a recommendation for deportation will be excluded from the provisions of the Human Rights Act 1998. [68887]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 8 May 2006]: The Government will shortly be setting out proposals on how the system for deporting foreign national prisoners can be improved. If we conclude that legislative changes are needed to secure those improvements we will consider them.
Proscribed Organisations
Mr. Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the inclusion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on the list of Proscribed Organisations in Schedule 2 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in March 2001. [63113]
Mr. McNulty: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was proscribed in March 2001 because the then Home Secretary, my right hon. Friend for Norwich, South (Mr. Clarke), decided that it met the criteria for proscription laid down in Section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (TACT) This decision was endorsed by Parliament. The list of proscribed organisations is kept under constant review. It is established policy not to comment further on any information or intelligence we hold in relation to a specific group on the list of proscribed organisations. The LTTE, or anyone affected by the proscription, may apply at any time to the Home Office be removed from the proscribed list. If such an application is unsuccessful an appeal can then be taken to the independent Proscribed Organisation Appeal Commission.
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what incentives are available to encourage members of his staff to use public transport for travelling to and from work. [75114]
Mr. Byrne: We encourage staff to use public transport for travelling to work by:
Providing no-interest loans for public transport season ticket and cycle purchases. Promoting national initiatives such as cycle to work days.
Ensuring that green transport plans already developed for most sites are kept up to date and are acted upon.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what incentives his Department offers to encourage staff to share vehicles when travelling to work. [73021]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Department has no policy on this.
Safer Neighbourhood Programmes
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of (a) the potential of nationwide implementation of safer neighbourhood programmes such as that introduced by Birmingham council and (b) the effectiveness of the National Community Safety Plan; and if he will make a statement. [78525]
Mr. McNulty: There has been no formal national evaluation of safer neighbourhoods work. However, Local Strategic Partnerships are encouraged to evaluate such projects in their area to identify “what works”, and to mainstream successful initiatives into their core programmes. National developments such as neighbourhood policing, Respect and the National Community Safety Plan all encourage neighbourhood level working to make communities safer places. It is too early to evaluate the impact of the National Community Safety Plan, given that it is a three year plan which has only been “live” for less than six months.
Small Firms
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition the Department uses of a small firm. [59272]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office does not use one single definition of a small firm. Terms such as “small firm” and “SME” (small and medium sized enterprise) are used interchangeably. Two of the most common definitions are those provided by the European Union, and the Companies Act 1985.
The European Commission definition specifies a maximum headcount, turnover, balance sheet and independence criteria to qualify as a small firm. The Companies Act 1985 states that a company is “small” if it meets at least two of the following criteria: a turnover of not more than £5.6 million; a balance sheet total of not more than £2.8 million; and not more than 50 employees. These definitions can be found at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/sme_definition/index_en.htm and http://www.dti.gov.uk/cld/audit.htm.
UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to achieve compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 22 for the UK. [76825]
Mr. Byrne: The United Kingdom ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child on 16 December 1991, subject to a number of reservations. Only two of these remain; one about children in adult offender institutions and one referring to Immigration and Nationality.
The latter reservation is as follows:
“The United Kingdom reserves the right to apply such legislation, in so far as it relates to the entry into, stay in and
departure from the United Kingdom of those who do not have the right under the law of the United Kingdom to enter and remain in the United Kingdom, and to the acquisition and possession of citizenship, as it may deem necessary from time to time.”
We comply with the spirit of Article 22 of the Convention and believe that our reservation in respect of immigration and nationality matters does not lead to any neglect of children's care or welfare. The Government have no intention of withdrawing the reservation.
Visas
Mr. Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people entered the UK with valid visas as visitors during the last 12 months; how many failed to return to their country of origin before the expiry of their permitted stay; and if he will make a statement. [78047]
Mr. Byrne: From the latest published Control of Immigration statistics for 2004, there were around 1.65 million visitors to the United Kingdom whose nationality requires them to obtain a visa before travelling the UK. This figure relates to passenger journeys; a person who makes more than one journey in a given year is counted on each occasion. Following the removal of embarkation controls in 1996, it is not possible to comment on the number of persons who return to their country of origin before their leave to enter or remain as a visitor in the UK expires.
Witness Protection
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers are available to minimise recrimination against victims of (a) criminal and (b) antisocial behaviour who give evidence to the police. [78332]
Mr. McNulty: Witness intimidation is an offence by virtue of S.51 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (in relation to criminal proceedings) and S.39 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (in relation to civil proceedings). The provisions cover intimidation of anyone who
“is assisting in the investigation of an offence or is a witness or potential witness or juror or potential juror in proceedings for an offence”.
The police and courts clearly take this issue seriously and we have seen convictions for witness intimidation increase by over 30 per cent. between 2000 and 2005.
The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 provides a range of special measures for witnesses whose evidence is likely to be affected by fear or distress in connection with testifying in criminal proceedings. These measures include the use of screens and live links, and a greater degree of “privacy” in what remains a public hearing, to be applied in sexual cases, or where there is a fear that the witness may be intimidated. Intimidated witnesses may also be permitted to give their evidence in private.
The Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 introduced similar measures for witnesses in proceedings for antisocial behaviour orders. The use of hearsay evidence in civil proceedings involving antisocial behaviour allows witnesses to remain anonymous. In exceptional cases, in criminal proceedings, at the discretion of the
court, witnesses in criminal cases, who are unwilling to give evidence through fear for their safety, may also be permitted anonymity.
The Court must consider the potential disadvantages to the defendant and ensure that it is necessary and that the witness is in genuine and justified fear of serious consequences if his true identity became known. It must also ensure that necessary and appropriate precautions are taken to ensure that the trial itself will be fair. When exercising this discretion the court should be mindful of four factors; there must be real grounds for being fearful of the consequences of revealing the identity of the witness, the evidence must be sufficiently important to make it unfair to the prosecution to compel them to proceed without it, the prosecution must satisfy the court as to the creditworthiness of the witness and finally the court must be satisfied that no undue prejudice is caused to the defendant. Provided that appropriate safeguards are applied, and the judge is satisfied that a fair trial can take place, it may permit anonymity. In criminal cases, law enforcement agencies are responsible for providing support for intimidated witnesses and we are doing everything we can to ensure that they are assisted in doing so. We are working with them and other criminal justice agencies to ensure that intimidated witnesses are identified at an early stage and properly supported throughout the criminal justice process.
We fund the National Witness Mobility Service which gives police forces access to support from housing experts to assist in the relocation of intimidated witnesses. The Service has assisted in some serious antisocial behaviour cases. We are planning to extend this support by facilitating access to a wider range of services through the establishment of a central services unit. We have also introduced new legislation which helps forces to secure the assistance they need from others to set up protection arrangements and provides additional safeguards for witnesses. In antisocial behaviour cases, agencies are also encouraged to give witnesses support after the court hearing—for example by keeping them informed about the outcome.
A range of detailed guidance is set out on the TOGETHER website at http://www.together.gov.uk/category.asp?c=339.
Deputy Prime Minister
Constituency Visits
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the constituencies he visited between 5 May 2005 and 5 May 2006. [75695]
The Deputy Prime Minister: The information requested is not collected in this form.
Dorneywood
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 23 May 2006, Official Report, column 1665W on Dorneywood, if he will make it his policy to collect information on the number of times hospitality is offered at Dorneywood
to members of foreign and Commonwealth Governments. [74409]
The Deputy Prime Minister: My hon. Friend may be aware of my announcement on 31 May of my personal decision that I no longer wish be the official resident of Dorneywood.
Pension Policy
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his role is in developing pension policy; and if he will make a statement. [79483]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 13 June 2006, Official Report, column 1086W.
Private Office
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the role is in his private office of Sheree Dodd; what the cost to public funds has been to date for the employment of Ms Dodd; and if he will make a statement. [78227]
The Deputy Prime Minister: The person named does not have any role in my private office.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is continuing to provide my media support until the recent machinery of Government changes are complete. Specific staff issues are the responsibility of the civil service; I am not involved in any such appointments. Staff costs will be accounted for in the Department’s annual report and accounts in the usual way.
Sovereign Strategy
Chris Huhne: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 6 June 2006, Official Report, columns 833-34W, on Sovereign Strategy, if he will list the occasions in the last 12 months when his official diary shows that he had meetings with a representative of Sovereign Strategy. [79227]
The Deputy Prime Minister: No such occasions are listed; and I did not meet this company.
Timber
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his wooden office furniture is made from sustainable timber. [78223]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Yes. All office furniture procured by my office comes from sustainable sources. However, there are a small number of older pieces—predating the creation of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in May 2002—for which sources cannot be verified.
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